NeverDead Review - PS3

very noticeable difference. Even so, it's always tempting to simply rely on the sword.

Tying into Bryce's immortality is his ability to tear off his own limbs and use them as weapons. About halfway through the game, you unlock the ability to use one of Bryce's arms like a grenade which can be detonated at will. This also works as a distraction, since the dog-like demons will go and fetch his arm, then attack it for a little while. Then boom! Bryce can also tear his head off at will, allowing him to fit into small spaces which would normally be inaccessible. If he catches on fire, he can use it to damage enemies by touching them, and the same goes for electricity. Bryce can even fire flaming or electrically charged bullets if you unlock the right skills. It's great to see that Rebellion tried to be as creative as possible when it came to coming up with ways for Bryce to fight his enemies by using his body.

While enemies and objects in the environment can hurt you, Bryce is not a character who dies easily. In fact, he can't really die at all, since all he has to do is gather up his limbs and he's as good as new. This makes the game's opening rather easy, but it's not too long before he meets his natural enemy, the Grandbabies. Grandbabies are small, spherical demons which will make a beeline for Bryce's severed head at the first sign of an opening. They'll try to eat his head, and if you're unable to escape them, you'll find yourself inside their stomach. At this point, a simple quick-time event will begin, where you need to press the X button at the right time in order to break out of the Grandbaby. If you fail, then Bryce's head is digested, and you'll be taken to NeverDead's "game over" screen where you can load from your last check point. This is one of only two ways to get a Game Over in the game.

The other way is to have Arcadia die during battle. During your many fights against hordes of demons, she'll often get swamped by them. If you let her get attacked too many times, she'll fall into an injured state where you have to reach her before her life gauge expires (you have about ten seconds). If you don't make it, then she dies, and you're taken to the same "game over" screen that you see if Bryce's head gets digested. This happens pretty rarely though, as Arcadia can take a lot of hits (at least on the Normal difficulty) without getting visibly hurt.

All of the above is perfectly acceptable, and often enjoyable. What isn't so hot though, is that the gameplay simply isn't varied enough. While there are a few sections where you'll be rolling around as Bryce's decapitated head, engaging in some light platforming, much of the game consists of little more than clearing out area after area of enemies. ... (continued next page)